Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Thinking about making a bench.......

I love this bed.

I have had this headboard and foot board for a few years now
and I absolutely love them. But using them for a practical purpose proved to be a challenge.

The colors are perfect.

The layers of paintand the patina from age are too lovely. I adore the peach coming through the green and yellow.

But what to do with it?

Benches seemed to be the only thing but there were two sticking points that kept me from doing a bench.

• The uncomfortable straight-up-and-down back

• Cutting the foot board in half to make arms.

I didn't want to cut any part of this bed.

As I said, i think it's too perfect.

Anybody who saw
the long-ago post where I tried to decorate with this bed is probably now
thinking, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah already. So what's new?'

When I tried decorating with the headboard and foot board the result was a disaster. And that's being kind.
It was beastly awful. That's being kind, too. You can see my
crazy attempts here.

My mistake was wanting all my treasures on display. I couldn't cull anything.

In the
end I used them as a decorative headboard and foot board on our bed, even though it's a king and
this set is for a double bed. It was a challenge getting it all to work
because there was nothing for the pieces to attach to and we already had
a brass headboard. Heh heh heh. Stubborness won out and I made it work.Sorta.

I used cardboard boxes, wood planks, brackets, 4 x 4s, clamps and a good dose of ugly. It stayed that way for a couple years. It was a rickety solution at best and either the headboard or foot board would fall sideways. One leg of the headboard wiggled off the wood plank and punctured down into the cardboard box. Putting it back together was hard. It was heavy and awkward trying to maneuver everything without moving the bed. And the bed was way too heavy to budge.But the bench idea was always in the back of my mind. Finally, I came across a woodworking blog showing the foot board in front, upside down.

Why didn't I think of that?

So I attacked the bench idea with Mr Bad's help.

On the left side of this photo you can see one of my engineering marvels.

We used the blanket chest as a stand-in seat and brainstormed how to get the back rest to a comfortable angle.

The color is awesome on this! I'm with you on not cutting into that lovely foot board to make arms. Like where your going with it now. I have a lovely old full size head and foot board...glad to have viewed the perils of trying to put it behind an existing head board!!!

I totally understand not wanting to cut something, I always worry I might mess it up beyond usefulness. These pieces are so wonderfully aged and beautiful that anything you do with them will look fabulous. They are a head turner! Your bench idea is looking awesome!

I've been watching a show on HGTV called FLEA MARKET FLIP. I swear that you might have been a star of one of the recent episodes. The ideas they come up with on the show are very interesting and the premise of buying something at a flea market and making it into something else is fun to watch. Anyway, your headboard and foot board are already fantastic and I get how you want to make them into something for another audition for a new life. I have no ideas for your bench but I look forward to seeing what you do with it. I'm a new visitor and follower via My Salvaged Treasures blog linky party. BTW, congratulations on being featured on her blog.

Places my furniture has been featured!

About Me

I am an artist and graphic designer who has fallen in love with painting furniture. This furniture passion has helped me fight a rare and aggressive cancer, for which there is no cure, and I hope I can inspire others as I continue on my journey. I live a happy, creative life on a small farm with my awesome hubby, 3-1/2 cats and 3 mini horses. Plus whatever deer, turkeys, bears, foxes, hares or coyotes that wander by.
I can be reached at bad.rabbit.vintage@gmail.com